Politics

Record-Breaking Number of Women Are in the Running for House Seats

In this July 15, 2010 photo, Katrina Swett, left, talks with Ann McLane Kuster during a candidates forum in Bow, N.H. The two women vying for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd congressional district have been doing some name-calling at each other. And they're using the same slur: lobbyist.(AP Photo/Jim Cole)

A total of 295 women have filed to run for seats in the House of Representatives, shattering the record of 262 filings set in 2010, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics.

With primaries more than halfway through, 113 women have won spots on the November ballot, with 97 women still in the running. Women hold 17 percent of seats in the House; with the positive showings thus far, the center predicts they’ll exceed the current numbers. The Center for American Women and Politicis is a research group with the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

“For the first time in 20 years, women are poised to make significant gains in the upcoming election,” center Director Debbie Walsh said in a June 21 news release.

The current record of most primary wins by women was set in 2004. That year, 141 women--88 Democrats and 53 Republicans--won their House primaries.

In 2012, of the 212 still in the running for the House, 136 female candidates are Democrats and 76 are Republicans.

Thirty-six women have filed for Senate seats, matching the record that was set two years ago. So far, nine women have won their primaries, with a total of 23 women still vying for Senate seats. Of those candidates, 14 are Democrats and nine are Republicans.